Lancôme Hydra Zen Gel Cream for oily skin
Salicylic Acid
Glycerin
Sodium Hyaluronate
Aloe Barbadensis Extract
PanthenolAverage
- AverageOily Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for oily skin; other moisturizers fit it better.
- Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017
- American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2002
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with oily skin: shine, enlarged pores, blackheads, and blemishes. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Offers moderate moisturizing for your oily skin due to the presence of glycerin and sodium hyaluronate, which hydrate and plump the skin, but lacks sufficient ingredients for optimal oil control.
- The product provides general skincare benefits like hydration and soothing, which are supportive but not directly relevant to addressing your oily shine.
- The safety profile is excellent, with no risks of irritation for your oily skin due to the absence of prohibited or harsh ingredients.
How to apply
- Could be used as part of your AM or PM routine every day to keep your face fresh.
- Apply this moisturizer after cleansing and toning, but right before your SPF in the morning.
- Gently press a small amount into your skin and let it absorb fully.
- Apply on clean, slightly dry skin to help control that oily shine.
- Avoid the eye area and do a quick patch test before your first use.
People Say
★4.7Overall rating based on 300+ reviewsThis gel cream is highly effective for combination and sensitive skin, offering a cooling, lightweight hydration that absorbs quickly without leaving a greasy residue. Many users report that it successfully soothes redness, plumps the skin, and serves as an excellent base for makeup, though some find the fragrance or price point to be drawbacks.
Highlights
Good for sensitive skin Often Mentioned
- “I have very sensitive skin and can't use many products... my skin has been 'glass-skin'.”
- “Perfect for sensitive skin and post sunburn skin!”
- “Formula is gentle and ideal for sensitive skin.”
Lightweight texture Often Mentioned
- “Absorbs effortlessly into my skin, feels thick but not oily.”
- “Lightweight texture that absorbs quickly without leaving a greasy residue.”
- “Light on skin and absorbs wonderfully.”
Great makeup base Sometimes Noted
- “Works well as a base for makeup, creating a smooth canvas.”
- “Many use it successfully under makeup for a dewy finish.”
Soothing and calming Sometimes Noted
- “If you have any redness, it also soothes the irritation too.”
- “Visible inflammation was reduced by -22% after 4 weeks.”
- “Leaves skin feeling refreshed and less irritated.”
Strong fragrance Sometimes Noted
- “My only issue with it is the fragrance.”
- “I just really don't like when a skin company puts fragrance in skin care products.”
Can be drying Rarely Noted
- “Ultimately this moisturizer is a huge let down and dries out my skin.”
- “Left my face feeling dry despite its nice scent.”
High price point Rarely Noted
- “At this price point it should [perform better].”
- “Expensive.”
Potential irritation Rarely Noted
- “My skin started itching and burning the moment I applied it.”
Sources: lovi.care, dillards.com, influenster.com, macys.com, sephora.com, skinsort.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does Lancôme Hydra Zen Gel Cream work for oily skin?
This moisturizer works moderately well for your oily skin, offering basic hydration and a safe, comfortable feel without clogging pores, though it lacks strong ingredients to control shine. To truly thrive, oily skin needs lightweight options packed with peptides, soothing agents, and oil-balancing ingredients that hydrate without adding heaviness.
Which ingredients make this cream a good fit for oily skin?
Glycerin and sodium hyaluronate make this cream a moderate fit by providing hydration and plumpness for your oily skin without causing irritation. To truly excel for oily skin, a moisturizer of this type needs lightweight textures, peptides, and ingredients that control excess shine and support the skin barrier without heavy oils.
What does Salicylic Acid do for oily skin?
Salicylic acid helps oily skin by reducing excess oil and keeping pores clear. It may also improve overall skin hydration while managing breakouts.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2025Experimental Dermatology, 2019
What does Glycerin do for oily skin?
Glycerin helps keep oily skin hydrated without feeling heavy and supports the skin barrier. Because this product is a weak fit for your skin, an ideal product of this type needs lightweight hydrators and ingredients that balance oil while protecting the skin.
The British Journal of Dermatology, 2008International Journal of Toxicology, 2019
Where does it go in a skincare routine for oily skin?
This moisturizer goes near the end of your morning and evening routines, right before sunscreen in the morning. It provides moderate hydration for your oily skin, though an oily skin type needs extra oil-controlling ingredients to properly manage shine.
Can I use this cream with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this cream with retinol by applying your retinol treatment first and following it with the moisturizer to help keep your skin comfortable and hydrated. This type of routine helps soothe your skin and is unlikely to cause irritation.
How often should I use it?
You can use this moisturizer daily in the morning and evening as part of your routine. Daily application helps keep your skin hydrated and smooth while remaining very unlikely to cause irritation.
Health Science Reports, 2021Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020
Can this cream clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for oily skin?
This cream is unlikely to cause irritation or breakouts on your oily skin because it has a very safe formula with no harsh ingredients. However, to truly manage oily shine, this skin needs a product that specifically targets oil control.
Can I use it around the eyes or on my body?
You can use this moisturizer around the eyes and on the body, as it has a very safe formula that is unlikely to cause irritation. However, oily skin needs a product of this type that also provides oil control and mattifying ingredients for these areas.
Is this cream fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It contains fragrance (parfum) and drying alcohol (alcohol denat).
What the research says
A single application of a moisturizing fluid containing hyaluronic acid 1%, glycerin 5%, and Centella asiatica stem cells extract significantly increased skin hydration by 29% and reduced transepidermal water loss at 24 hours compared to baseline and an untreated control site in twenty healthy women.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017Topical dexpanthenol acts as a moisturizer, improves stratum corneum hydration, accelerates wound healing and epidermal regeneration, reduces erythema, and improves symptoms of skin irritation compared to vehicle or no pretreatment.
American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2002A new topical panthenol-containing emollient significantly improved transepidermal water loss reduction, stratum corneum hydration, and intercellular lipid lamellae length compared with control in healthy subjects without negatively impacting bacterial viability.
The Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2017A moisturizer containing licochalcone A, 1,2-decanediol, L-carnitine, and salicylic acid significantly reduced noninflammatory, inflammatory, and total acne lesion counts compared to a vehicle control in Thai patients during a 12-week maintenance phase.
BioMed Research International, 2020Cryotherapy with liquid nitrogen achieved a higher cure rate (39%) than salicylic acid (24%) and a wait-and-see approach (16%) for cutaneous warts at 13 weeks in primary care patients.
CMAJ, 2010Treatment with 2% supramolecular salicylic acid hydrogel resulted in a regression and markedly improvement rate of 51.01% compared to 43.10% for Adapaline gel in patients with mild to moderate facial acne vulgaris, showing no significant difference in efficacy.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024Topical 5% benzoyl peroxide plus salicylic acid achieved the greatest lesion reduction at early 2 to 4 week time points compared to benzoyl peroxide, clindamycin, and combination benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin, while 5% benzoyl peroxide plus salicylic acid and combination benzoyl peroxide/clindamycin showed similar efficacy at 10 to 12 weeks in acne patients.
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2010The emollient V0034CR significantly reduced TEWL compared to vehicle and vehicle plus glycerol, and significantly increased corneometry scores compared to vehicle and vehicle plus petrolatum in healthy volunteers with dry skin, demonstrating combined barrier function improvement from petrolatum and hydration improvement from glycerol.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Ten days of treatment with a cream containing 20% glycerin significantly increased skin hydration measured by corneometer values in 17 healthy volunteers compared to a placebo cream, but showed no influence on transepidermal water loss or skin sensitivity to an irritating surfactant.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2001Niacinamide/glycerin body moisturizers provided better rapid and prolonged improvement of cosmetic xerosis through functional improvement of stratum corneum barrier function compared to no treatment and conventional moisturizers in female subjects.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2012Topical application of 0.1% hyaluronic acid formulations of different molecular weights led to significant improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, with low-molecular-weight formulations also significantly reducing wrinkle depth in seventy-six female subjects compared to a vehicle control.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2011Topical application of hyaluronic acid in conjunction with free gingival graft significantly reduced donor site postoperative pain until day 7 compared to normal saline, with no significant differences in graft dimensions or patient satisfaction.
Clinical Oral Investigations, 2022Treatment with a hyaluronic acid-containing mouth rinse or topical gel led to significant lesion reduction, pain relief, and normalization of lesion color in adult patients with minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis, with the gel formulation showing an earlier healing onset at 3 days.
BMC Oral Health, 2019A cream combining propolis, tea tree oil, and Aloe vera reduced erythema scars, acne severity index, and total lesion count better than erythromycin cream in sixty patients with mild to moderate acne vulgaris compared to placebo.
Clinical Pharmacology, 2018Topical aloe vera gel significantly accelerated split-thickness skin graft donor-site healing compared to placebo in 12 patients, but showed no significant difference in pain relief.
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 2018Topical application of Aloe vera cream reduced postoperative pain at rest and during defecation, accelerated wound healing at two weeks, and decreased analgesic requirements in patients after open hemorrhoidectomy compared to placebo.
Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2010Moisturizer containing 5% panthenol, madecassoside, and copper-zinc-manganese decreased adverse reactions and downtime after ablative fractional carbon dioxide laser resurfacing with comparable efficacy to 0.02% triamcinolone acetonide cream in 20 subjects.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2019Topical dexpanthenol formulated in lipophilic vehicles improved stratum corneum hydration and reduced transepidermal water loss compared to vehicle control in humans.
Arzneimittel-Forschung, 2000Hyaluronic acid, hyaluronic acid plus dexpanthenol, and isotonic saline nasal sprays all significantly improved dry nose symptoms over four weeks in 240 patients, with hyaluronic acid plus dexpanthenol providing superior nasal moisturisation compared to the other two.
Auris, Nasus, Larynx, 2020
Why other moisturizers fit oily skin better
A panthenol-enriched mask improved skin hydration, regulated sebum, and reduced redness and TEWL across dry sensitive, oily sensitive, and oily acne skin subgroups with excellent tolerance and no adverse reactions.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024
Ingredients
Water, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Alcohol Denat, Butylene Glycol, Peg-8, Propylene Glycol, Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Phenoxyethanol, Acrylates C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Adenosine, Caprylyl Glycol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium Edta, Parfum
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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